If your child has eczema, what washing powder do you use?

[FartOutLoudDay]

Youngest DD’s eczema seems to be really aggravated at the moment. She has always had patches inside her elbows but now there are patches all over and I think it’s probably our current washing liquid to blame.

Two grubby kids in uniform and DH’s sports kit mean we need something that will get rid of stains and sniffs. I’d love the washing to still smell nice once dried but obviously would forego that for the sake of poor DD not itching!

I know there are recommendations online but can never be sure they aren’t paid adverts in reality so would love to hear what others use that still cleans well but doesn’t cause a reaction.

Hi, my daughter suffered with eczema but it has calmed down so much since using the Ecover Zero liquid detergent and I use the Ecover zero sensitive fabric softener. Her clothes are lovely and soft, I have no complaints. It's usually cheaper on amazon (or so i've found!) hope this helps.

Persil non bio

Surcare is the only one that DS doesn’t react to

sorry i completely missed the bit about stains & smells - I can't really give an opinion on this, her clothes don't tend to get stained too often and we always wash her stuff separately. Me and dp still use a bio detergent for ourselves.

Fairy, the powder not the liquid.

Persil non bio. I have eczema too and it's fine for both of us. I usually do a second rinse post-wash, especially if one of us has a flare-up.

It cleans perfectly well, though I do occasionally use Vanish pre-wash stuff on very stubborn stains.

Fairy non bio, much less than indicated on pack. Always an extra rinse and no fabric conditioner.

Ariel. I use slightly less than the recommended dose, and sometimes do an extra rinse too. It suits us all well. Because it’s a bio detergent it washes well and I don’t need to use such a big amount which I reckon is a good thing.

Tesco non bio powder. I’m afraid you’ll need something that doesn’t have much, if any, fragrance as that’s one of the things that can irritate. I use it for everything and it works fine, with Vanish pre soak for stains.

If it's a younger pre puberty child I would literally use nothing for a few washes while you get it under control.

You'd be surprised that a decent washing machine doesn't need the extra soap. Just use a hot wash.

I didn't use anything for ages when my son would flare up when he was younger. Everything made him flare up.

*and then you can use the nice smelling stuff for everyone else!

Thanks all! I definitely can run an extra rinse cycle and will test a few of the recommendations to see how we go.

Ecover here.
If it's any consolation, DS has also massively flared up. I don't think it's laundry powder or anything. It comes up every time the weather changes for winter. Like a barometer. A week or so ago it flared, now it's cold. Every year.
Stings and itches worse every year though 😕

Fairy non bio liquid and the comfort baby softener

I use ecover 0 and comfort pure, I've also found a couple of others that are ok such as surcare but those are my go to. Same for DN who has much worse eczema on her body.

I have eczema. I use fairy non bio and no fabric softener

Fairy non bio powder with white vinegar as a softener if it's needed or if things smell a bit musty. If things are stinky (eg from toileting accidents) I will either soak them in hot water and washing up liquid, or hot water and biological cheap powder, depending on how stinky! And then do a quick wash with no powder and just the stinky clothing, and then re-wash on an intensive wash cycle with fairy non bio powder, white vinegar, and an extra rinse cycle. Most stains come out with a dash of washing up liquid and a 30 minute wait before a proper wash cycle.

Dermatology at the hospital told us to use non bio powder for our baby as well as for our clothes. They said that non bio capsules have small amounts of fabric softener in them and even we use different stuff for us and the recommended for the baby, it’s still in the drum so we use non bio powder only now. It’s part of a complex care plan with a few different treatments though so I doubt it’s the magic thing keeping our baby’s eczema at bay.

We can only use fairy powder and fairy fabric conditioner. I changed fabric conditioners because I fancied a different smell and it made my poor daughter suffer. I even tried the fairy capsules while we were on holiday and it did the same thing. I hope you see an improvement soon.

Any own brand non bio. Even Aerial or Persil non bio would set it off.

Always had to use Persil non bio here for a dp, dd and dd who all have sensitive skin with a touch of eczema.

It's all about the rinsing IMO. My rule is: if my laundry still smells of anything when I take it out of the washer, I haven't rinsed it enough.

I also cut down on the detergent quantity and use a scoop of washing soda in the drum instead, which means I don't have to rinse forever and a day.

If I don't do extra rinses I get shitty rashes wherever fabric clings (waistband, bra area, etc.), no matter what the detergent brand. With rinses, no problem. It's not surprising that sensitive skin doesn't enjoy having clothes impregnated with detergent/fragrance/softener/whitener/other irritant chemicals resting against the skin, for sweat to dissolve it out and hold it warmly and damply against the skin for hours on end.

Also not convinced that eco-friendly, low water volume, cold water <40° washes are capable of doing anything other than crapping laundry detergent all over your clothes and never rinsing it away again.

We use regular bio persil or Ariel.
Always a full cotton wash, which rinses everything well. No stains

Anytime we stay anywhere else, and use other laundry stuff, if only a problem if someone else uses the machine as they always use eco or short washes that don’t wash detergent out properly. Even if it’s eco/ baby/ non bio.

Just a caution. I would avoid liquids. They contain methylisoliazolinone. (Spelling??) It really sets off many many people who have eczema.

Fairy non bio powder and no softener.